A Triumphant Weekend

SUCCESS!!!!

This weekend was absolutely filled to the brim with rewards.

From tackling new canning recipes for the pounds and pounds of green tomatoes harvested last weekend as we prepared our garden beds for fall planting.

Salsa Verde with green tomatoes in place of the more traditionally used tomatillos

All canned up, salsa and pickled green tomatoes (YUM!)

To finally overcoming the (irrational) fear of the pressure canner. YES! I finally triumphed!

Now let me explain, the first time we, Hubs and I, tried the pressure canner things just didn’t go as they should. It struggled to reach 11 pounds pressure, the pressure gauge steamed up so we could hardly read it. Then, just as it reached pressure it let out whistle so loud that, if we had crystal in the house it would have likely shattered. The dog hightailed it to the farthest point away, as we were left standing there with our fingers in our ears, trying to make sense of what was happening and wondering if it would ever stop. It only quit once we turned off the stove. So we hung up our pressure canning hats till a later date, removed the plugs and had since been using the canner solely as a water bath canner. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook then you should know all to well the volume of pickles (tomato, cucumber, zucchini) that I have been putting up.

I finally found my resolve to win out over my nerves and set about giving it another go. Did it go swimmingly? Nope, the first attempt the lid didn’t seal tight, leaks appeared in a couple of spots and the pressure refused to rise. After conferring with the Handsome Hubs I took it off the heat, wiped all the seals and edges down, and tried again. What a difference. The steady steam started almost immediately, the lock popped up and once the weight was in place the pressure steadily rose. It took some serious hovering to keep the pressure ‘just so’ but, after 75 minutes, plus cool down time, I was giddy as I heard the sweet pings of the lids sing, one after another, until all 7 pints sealed. (Insert Happy Dance)

It hasn’t been just pressure canning that has proven to be taxing. I have also spent many a week trying to create a good working relationship with my sourdough starter. Now, you all know I can bake a loaf of bread as seen here and here and even, here. But sourdough has been my Sasquatch, remaining elusive. Giving just a slight promise of being proven attainable but never seeing 100% actual proof. This starter was created with the wild yeast from my organically grown red cabbage. I used a method I found on Two Sisters Bakery Recipe Blog. Creating the starter has proven to be the easy part. Turning that starter into the perfect loaf of sourdough bread, well let’s just say there have been plenty of door stops, literally. Each week I would attempt to bake up a batch. Some weeks the bread had a great tangy taste but was so dense it was better suited as a bat, door stop or chicken feed (after being soaked). Other weeks the loaves would rise and be light and airy yet the flavor was reminiscent of plain ol’ white bread and while palatable, it just wasn’t what I was after. Until this past weekend when this is what I pulled out of the oven

Not a huge rise, but at least something that resembled what it actually was and not a weapon.

That crust; thick and crunchy. The interior; chewy, tangy and fluffy. Oh it was so good we (truth, mostly me) nearly ate an entire loaf still hot from the oven. Still too small to make a decent sandwich but perfectly worthy of soft butter and soup soaking.

If all that weren’t enough, our Easter hatch girls have begun to Join the Layer’s Club! Bubble the Marans/Orpington mix started laying a week ago and has laid an egg everyday since.

Sunday, the Olive Egger, BamBam joined the club with our first ever olive-green egg. We are stoked (too So Cal??) to finally have a new egg color in our basket and hope she lays as faithfully as Bubbles.

Bunny, the other Marans/Orpington mix is acting like she will be rounding out the new layer’s membership sometime this week.

Pressure canning, delicious sourdough, olive colored eggs, all add up to a happy, happy homesteader.

Top 10 Things I love about this life, #9 might be the best.

Last summer was when we first brought home chickens. It was the beginning of July and so marked the beginning of this homesteading journey that we had no idea we were setting out on at that time. With this also being my 100th blog post, I thought it the right moment to stop and reflect on the past year, where my family and I started, what I’ve learned and share a few highlights. So I give you, the top 10 things I love about our little urban homestead life, as discovered in the first year.

1. Fresh Produce – The joy of going out to the garden each day to see what is ready to be harvested. Planning our meals around the fresh produce we have available and knowing that it was grown with lots of care and careful planning and without the use of chemicals and pesticides. Fresh produce from our backyard garden is the best.

2. Fresh Eggs – Just as wonderful as the fresh produce, fresh eggs from our delightful backyard flock makes every day feel just a little like Christmas and Easter. There is a difference between grocery store eggs and fresh pasture raised eggs, yes they are healthier, the yolks are vibrantly orange and perky, but they also have more substance to them, they aren’t watery and plain. You actually have to chew fresh, pastured eggs. Weird I know, but I just don’t know any other way to describe this difference. They seem more like a real food than those old grocery store eggs.

3. The Chickens – Another benefit of having a backyard flock is the chickens themselves. For me, the hens are a constant source of entertainment and stress relief. I just cannot help but giggle when the girls get to running across the yard, whether it’s to great me (the feeder) or to race from one shady patch to the other. Oh and the chicks are even funnier. They hop, flap and scramble to close ranks across the yard, running in single file, following the leader, even if he is headed directly into the fence they no longer fit through. Then they have to snake their way around the gate to make their way back into the chicken yard. Just watching chickens and chicks be just that, is great therapy. Watching my broody talk to, teach, protect and care for her clutch this spring was almost magical. Nature at work as it should be, that is a great source of pleasure.

4. Learning and Trying New Things – This, our first year has been the year of many firsts. From bread and tortilla making to keeping chickens and hatching eggs. Growing new vegetables in the garden, lacto-fermenting our cabbage into sauerkraut (If you have never tried sauerkraut made this way, you really are missing out). The May Meet-Up was a brand new experience. Oh and I checked a big new experience off the list recently when I purchased our first half-gallon of raw goat’s milk. The 3 of us easily drank down half of it before I took the last quart and turned it into another first when I made a small batch of fresh Farm Cheese. That was to fun! To say it has been fun discovering all the “do-it-yourself” things that are out there would be a gross understatement of large proportions. With each new success comes the confidence and drive to add more “must try’s” to our list.

5. Overcoming Fears – With all these new experiences comes some fear and trepidation. I will openly admit I was just as apprehensive about tasting raw goat’s milk for the first time as I was excited to finally get to taste raw goat’s milk for the first time. But my biggest anxiety thus far has been learning to pressure can. This surpasses the uneasiness that comes with learning to cull that first chicken. Still trying to figure it out but what did happen was The Hubs and I working together to learn this new skill. He admitted he was a little nervous too, until he read the manufacturer’s directions, he ACTUALLY read them! We may not have conquered the pressure canner as of yet, but we are in the process (pun intended)

6. Getting my Hands Dirty – It’s as simple as it sounds; there is no greater therapy for me than gardening.

7. Accepting Failures as Lessons – It hasn’t been all rosy and drama free. We’ve lost hens, baked loaves of bread better suited for masonry work. There have been garden flops from frost to insects to chicken demolition crews. But from every failure has come a lesson learned. With each lesson has come personal growth and a broader knowledge base. Without failures there really is no growth. So I graciously (but not without some tears) accept all the failures, both grand and trivial.

8. Patience – Patience is a learned skill and one that is vital in homesteading, farming, gardening, all aspects of “doing” for yourself. You cannot rush a hen to lay an egg. No rushing a seed to sprout or a plant to grow or set fruit. Bread needs time to rise. Patience is not something we all have in this instant world we live in but as I practice homesteading skills I discover how vital a skill it is, one long forgotten as my daughter has grown and gained independence over the years. It is hard to return to the patient side of life but it is helpful in relieving stress and undue pressure. The whole “stop and smell the roses” cliché comes to the forefront as a necessity and an actual way of life.

9. New Found Friends & Community – Meeting like-minded folks from all over the country, world even. From fellow backyard, urban homesteaders to those on acreage, living off grid or taking a stab at building a full-fledged working farm, each individual has been a great source of drive, support, strength and knowledge. This continues to prove to be a delightful by-product of this little blogging adventure. I have made new friends that live both near and far. Most I have not met in person, nor may I ever, but they are still an integral part of my life now.

10. Who I See When I Look in the Mirror – I am not in my twenties, heck I am rapidly running out of my thirties too. I am not thin, nor am I content with the size I am. What I see when I look in the mirror runs deeper than these surface details. It is a woman (though I still feel like a girl, or more often, a 10-year-old boy), a woman, one who is finally figuring out what happiness truly is. One who is throwing aside the materialistic wants that so easily can be mistaken for needs. A woman who speaks with confidence, compassion and honesty without fear of what the listener may think. No longer do I worry so much about what someone thinks of what I am doing or why. I don’t use my words to convey the love and respect I am now living my life with. I use my actions. The level of self-confidence I carry now is the most fantastic treasure I have discovered, and so soon in my journey. As I stand at the threshold of this new chapter in my life I am already learning that stumbling is inevitable but using the bumps as building blocks as opposed to stones in a wall I can only continue to grow and flourish. For the first time in my life, I know I am where I need to be.

I want to thank each and every one of you for following along as we find our way on this new journey. I hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you. Thank you.